Watch Neil Young’s Previously Unreleased ‘Thrasher’ Performance At The Boarding House

In May 1978, Neil Young performed solo concerts over several consecutive evenings at the Boarding House in San Francisco. A previously unreleased performance of “Thrasher” from that run of shows is now available in advance of its inclusion in the upcoming Neil Young Archives Vol. III (1976-1987) box set due out on September 6.

Consisting of 17 CDs and 5 Blu-Ray discs, the deluxe edition of Archives Vol. III presents 198 total music tracks — live, studio, mixes and edits — 121 of those previously unreleased. Additionally, the Archives Vol. III deluxe edition Blu-Rays contains 11 films, four of those previously unreleased, including more from the Boarding House solo concert. The Blu-Rays also boast 128 tracks and a total of 14 hours of video.

“Thrasher” made its live debut on May 24, 1978, the opening night of Young’s Boarding House run. Young held early and late shows each of the five nights of the run and partially drew from recordings of the concerts for the 1979 live album, Rust Never Sleeps.

Young wrote about “Thrasher” on his official website, explaining:

“I wrote ‘Thrasher’ in a car on my way to Albuquerque from Taos New Mexico. I was being driven by Carpio, a native American who I was introduced to by Dennis Hopper filming Human Highway …

“Driving through the magnificent beauty of New Mexico, the words just kept coming to me. I saw the eagles circling, the deep canyons, the road ahead, reflecting on my journey through recent years, and thankful to be where I was.”

Captured during the early show at the Boarding House on May 27, 1978, Young’s performance of “Thrasher” can be seen below: